Ginger ale from Mohali

Sarthak Aggarwal and Abhishek Bajaj

As summer descends upon us, days of sipping a drink sounds welcoming. And then we miss our mothers, who'd whip up nimbu pani and rose relishes in a jiffy when we returned sweaty from school. Sarthak Aggarwal, co-founder of Gunsberg ginger ale, ginger beer and grapefruit ale (Rs 90 for 325ml) says that he grew up in Chandigarh drinking his mother's ginger ale. "We never had Pepsi or Coke at home!" Cut to a trip to Singapore, where he sat in a café looking at an open refrigerator and admiring the choices available in non-alcoholic drinks. "I had run an IT company and e-commerce portal for 15 years, but had no experience in food," he admits. A chat with childhood friend Abhishek Bajaj, now co-founder, brought clarity because his family had run a sweet shop chain for long.

Gunsberg is named after a Swiss-German hamlet

And, Gunsberg was born. Aggarwal, 38, who dropped out of a B.Com course, credits his time at ISEC (Institute of Social and Economic Change) for his business acumen. Bajaj studied at the Lawrence School, Sanawar, before working for the family business called Sindhi Sweets, in Chandigarh, famous for its gujiyas.

The ale is refreshing, floral light on the palate, and downright delicious. It can be had straight up or as a mixer. The reason why it's called Gunsberg is because that little Swiss-German town is one of Aggarwal's favourite places on the planet. The recipe is also German, passed down by a German neighbour who lived next to Aggarwal in Chandigarh. The raw materials are sourced from Europe and the Himalayas. "I think the difference between our ginger ale and the others in the market is that no one is using fresh ginger or lemon juice. In our factory in Mohali, fresh ginger and lemon are juicers every morning before production," says Bajaj. The packaging, which we think has an illustration of what a German ale maker or bartender would look like, was also was designed by Aggarwal, whose IT company handles design too.

The ale is available online on Amazon and across 30 cities at high-end grocery stores. They also plan to add three more flavours by the end of the year, and export the brand to Bhutan.